Can God do anything?

[Penny]

I believe God can do anything!

can a person believe/say that---

Then say... I am not sure he can do things in my life?

[EagerBeaver]

Only thing God cannot do is change the past.

[rough_rider]

God can't lie, or fail.

[dalebert]

Only thing God cannot do is change the past.

Well i think God can change the past...He just doesnt need to or should!

[Paully_44]

Can he make a rock so big he cant lift it?

[dolfan]

I Want To Believe ..... sorry, I was reading this thread and saw a commercial for the new X Files movie (I Want To Believe) coming out on 7/25.

Yes, He can do anything He wants. He's God.

[PastorDaniel]

Can he make a rock so big he cant lift it?

He could make a rock SO big that our puny minds may think that he can't lift it....and that's because that we are constantly trying to form God in our image....a limited one at that!!

I know, I know...I avoided the but I've heard it over and over and this is my abreviated answer Don't ask for the long one

[valley]

Can he make a rock so big he cant lift it?

Uh oh, there you go saying God can do anything within reason. Like, can God make two mountains side by side without a valley in the middle? Who was it that first started talking like that? C.S. Lewis I believe.

[EagerBeaver]

God cannot move through Todd Bentley. (There you go, Gerald!)

[Tracy]

Can he make a rock so big he cant lift it?

He could make a rock SO big that our puny minds may think that he can't lift it....and that's because that we are constantly trying to form God in our image....a limited one at that!!

I know, I know...I avoided the but I've heard it over and over and this is my abreviated answer Don't ask for the long one

I've thought about this, and that question actually falls into the category of nonsense. That question puts us in the arena of foolishness and nonsense. That is what I have learned through my study of formal logic. When you move from sense to nonsense, you move into an arena that is beyond even rational thought.

Can God do anything? Yes, as long as it is within keeping with His perfectly righteous character. That is why it is good to qualify the question. In one sense, no. God cannot do everyting. He cannot sin. He cannot love evil, etc. etc.

But in the sense that Penny is talking about, Yes, God can do everything. He has all power and authority.

And then the question becomes, "Will God do such and such in my life." The answer to that is "If it is in accordance with His will, He will do it. If not, He won't."

The hard part for us is being content with what His will is. I think it is an excellent question, Penny.

[Jamais Vu]

God cannot contradict himself.

Also, God cannot force us to serve him.

So my answer is no God can not do ANYTHING, because those two are something.

[RamboPreacher]

false assumptions, incorrect logic, (what tracy said) etc...

This kind of question is representative of the type of paradoxes atheists use in attempts to prove that God cannot exist. It works like this. God is supposed to be omnipotent. If He is omnipotent, then He can create a rock so big that He can't pick it up. If He cannot make a rock like this, then He is not omnipotent. If He can make a rock so big He can't pick it up, then He isn't omnipotent either. Either way demonstrates that God cannot do something. Therefore God is not omnipotent. Therefore God does not exist.

Is this logical? A little. However, the problem is that this bit of logic omits some crucial information, therefore, its conclusion is inaccurate.

What the above "paradox" lacks is vital information concerning God's nature. His omnipotence is not something independent of His nature. It is part of His nature. God has a nature and His attributes operate within that nature, as does anything and everything else.

God can only do those things that are consistent with His nature. He cannot lie because it is against His nature to do so. Not being able to lie does not mean He is not God or that He is not all powerful. Also, He cannot cease to be God. Since He is in all places at all times, if He stopped existing then He wouldn't be in all places at all time. Therefore, He cannot cease to exist without violating His own nature.

The point is that God cannot do something that is a violation of His own existence and nature. Therefore, He cannot make a rock so big he can't pick up, or make something bigger than Himself, etc. But, not being able to do this does not mean He is not God nor that He is not omnipotent. Omnipotence is not the ability to do anything conceivable, but the ability to do anything consistent with His nature and consistent with His desire within the realm of His unlimited and universal power which we do not possess. This does not mean He can violate His own nature. If He did something inconsistent with His nature, then He would be self contradictory.

If God were self contradictory, He would not be true. Likewise, if He did something that violated his nature, like make a rock so big He can't pick it up, He would also not be true since that would be a self contradiction. Since truth is not self contradictory, as neither is God, if He were not true, then He would not be God. But God is true and not self contradictory, therefore, God cannot do something that violates His own nature.

Another way to look at it is realize that in order for God to make something so big He couldn't pick it up, He would have to make a rock bigger than Himself. Since He is infinite in size, He would have to make something that would be bigger than Himself. Since it is His nature to be the biggest thing in existence because He created all things, He cannot violate His own nature by making a rock that is larger than He.

Also, since a rock, by definition, is not infinitely big, then it isn't logically possible to make a rock, something that is finite in size, be infinite in size (no longer a rock) since only God is infinite in size. At dictionary.com, a rock is defined as a "Relatively hard, naturally formed mineral or petrified matter; stone.
a) A relatively small piece or fragment of such material.
b) A relatively large body of such material, as a cliff or peak.
c) A naturally formed aggregate of mineral matter constituting a significant part of the earth's crust."

A rock, by definition is not infinitely large. So, to say that the rock must be so big that God cannot pick it up is to say that the rock is no longer a rock.

What the critics are asking is that God become self contradictory as a proof He doesn't exist. Their assertion is illogical from the start. So what they are doing is trying to get God to be illogical. They want to use illogic to prove God doesn't exist instead of logic. It doesn't work and the "paradox" is self-refuting and invalid.

[soulsearcher]

God has all power but the power of my choice.

[Billy n NC]

God cannot move through Todd Bentley. (There you go, Gerald!)

I think you are wrong on that statement.

The Bible speaks of Rocks crying out....... could do the job..

[macgulley]

God cannot move through Todd Bentley. (There you go, Gerald!)

I think you are wrong on that statement.

The Bible speaks of Rocks crying out....... could do the job..

The story of Balaam also comes to mind, I won't elaborate.